Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Bullet Points: 22 July 2014
- Ethnic leaders arrive for Laiza ceasefire talks
- UN rights official arrives in war-torn northern Burma
- China demands hygiene standards on Burmese rice to legalise trade
- Curfew in Mandalay townships eased after three weeks
- Census goes ahead at Thai refugee camps
- Unity journalists appeal to be heard by Magwe Divisional Court
| Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:55 AM PDT Today on Bullet Points: Deposed religious affairs minister Hsan Hsint has had a sedition charge added to legal proceedings filed against him by the government. The Thai military are conducting a census in the refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business probes 60 Burmese companies on levels of corruption, transparency and human rights compliance. Exports of Burmese rice to China have increased by 125 times since 2011 but the Chinese government view the Sino-Bumrese rice trade as illegal.
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| Ethnic leaders arrive for Laiza ceasefire talks Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:39 AM PDT Representatives of various ethnic armed groups arrived at the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) in Laiza on Monday for a conference on the nationwide ceasefire. Many observers expect the Laiza talks to have significant bearing upon the peace process in Burma. The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), made up of 16 ethnic militias, is due to sit for negotiations in the Sino-Burmese border town on 24– 26 July, when they will review and discuss terms and conditions for a ceasefire that could end decades of war with Burmese government forces. "First and foremost, we look to review the nationwide ceasefire draft and stipulate conditions for its signing," said Gen. Gun Maw, the deputy commander-in-chief of the KIO's armed wing Kachin Independence Army, and the main negotiator for the hosts at the talks. "We must also include a work plan for future political dialogue after a ceasefire is reached." He confirmed that the All-Burma Students' Democratic Front and other non-NCCT actors have been invited to the talks in Laiza. "We invited both NCCT and non-NCCT members, and are looking to engage with delegations from non-NCCT groups after and on the sidelines of the members' group meeting." Representing the Mon, the Karen, the Karenni, the Shan, the Kachin, the Chin and the Arakanese Buddhists, the NCCT is the most comprehensive alliance of ethnic actors to assemble in recent history. The most notable exclusions are the Shan State Army-South and the United Wa State Party. The NCCT was formed at a meeting in Laiza on 30 October 2013. It held its second conference at the Karen National Union's (KNU's) headquarters at Law Khee La in January this year. The KNU's General-Secretary Saw Kwe Htoo Win said, "We believe that [this meeting] will bring us closer to reaching a nationwide ceasefire." |
| UN rights official arrives in war-torn northern Burma Posted: 22 Jul 2014 02:38 AM PDT The newly-appointed United Nations' rights rapporteur for Burma, Yanghee Lee, arrived in Kachin State on Monday to assess the conflict-torn region. As part of her first official visit to Burma, Lee and a delegation travelled to the Kachin capital, Myitkyina, to meet with regional government figures including the chief minister of the state. Regional Social Affairs Minister Hpauyam Bauk Ja, who was present at the discussions, said that the rapporteur inquired about issues such as military conscription of children, available aid for internally displaced persons (IDPs), judicial corruption in settling land disputes, and female representation in the country's ongoing peace process. "The Kachin chief minister said that lower house member Dwe Bu is a member of the government's Union Peace-Making Work Committee, and that two women from the Nyein Foundation and local women leaders are usually present at peace talks held in Kachin State," said Hpauyam Bauk Ja. "Regarding the land disputes, the minister said that the Tatmadaw [Burmese military] has returned the land they seized from locals," she added. Following the meeting on Monday, Lee visited the Thayet Taw IDP camp in Waingmaw district, where nearly 500 people have lived in dire conditions since they were displaced by conflict in January 2012. The rapporteur visited other camps in nearby Bhamo on Tuesday, where some camp administrators said they were not satisfied with the level of engagement. "She didn't ask a single question throughout her tour in the camp," said Aung San, coordinator of the Tagondai IDP camp in Bhamo. "We offered to show her around here and there, but [government officials] told us not to show her unflattering things." Aung San said the delegation spent only a short time at the IDP camp on Tuesday morning, and expressed disappointment his that "we didn't get to say a word to her". Mahka, a lawyer based in Myitkyina, said that human rights violations have been rampant in Kachin State since fighting between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke out in 2011, when government forces violated a 17-year ceasefire. "There have been all forms of human rights violations all over the region since the fighting broke out," he said. "On humanitarian grounds, the government has a responsibility to provide assistance to people displaced by fighting, but it barely happens. Most of the aid comes from international donors, while the government takes credit." "The government, while not distributing aid themselves, have also been actively blocking international aid from reaching certain areas," he added, specifying Majayang and areas near the KIA headquarters in Laiza as particularly vulnerable areas with high displacement levels and deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Yanghee Lee arrived in Burma on 16 July to begin her initial ten-day tour. The rapporteur spent three days in the troubled western Arakan State, where she spoke with locals about the ethno-religious tensions that have plagued the region for the past two years. After her trip to Kachin State, the rapporteur is expected to meet with several government officials including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the Union Election Commission. Lee will present her findings on the situation of human rights in Burma at the 96th Assembly of the UN in September. Lee was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma as of 1st June 2014, following Tomás Ojea Quintana’s six-year term. |
| China demands hygiene standards on Burmese rice to legalise trade Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:30 AM PDT The Chinese government is demanding a formal sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on rice standards with Burma, officially known as Myanmar, according to local sources. The agreement is required by China to legalise its rice trade with Burma, the joint-secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation was quoted as saying. Though China accounts for about 60 percent of total unprocessed rice exports from Burma for the last two years, Chinese authorities view the trade as illegal due to the absence of a formal sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on rice standards between the two countries. Such an agreement would require Burma’s milled rice exports to follow China’s plant quarantine rules, including a third-party guarantee that they are free of disease or pests. Most of the rice from Burma is exported to China through informal border channels. In 2013, Burma exported around 747,000 tons of rice to China through such channels. Rice exports to China have increased by almost 125 times since 2011, according to a report by the World Bank in June this year. A World Bank Economist is also understood to have suggested Burma sign a formal agreement with China, considering the stiff competition from Vietnam. The Burmese government is also keen on accelerating trade with China given differences between China and Vietnam over an oil rig in the South China Sea. Burma’s rice exports are likely to reach around 1.16 million tons in fiscal year 2013-14, down 47 percent from 2.1 million tons exported in 2012-13, according to the Minister of Commerce. The US Department of Agriculture estimates Burma’s rice exports in 2014 to grow to around 1.3 million tons, up about 12 percent from the previous year’s level. The country’s milled rice production is estimated at 11.96 million tons in MY 2013-14 (January 2014 – December 2014) against a consumption of around 10.5 million tons. This article first appeared on Oryza website on 21 July 2014. Oryza is the global leader in data and industry news concerning rice and is an industry partner of DVB. |
| Curfew in Mandalay townships eased after three weeks Posted: 21 Jul 2014 10:50 PM PDT Authorities in Mandalay have relaxed the eight-hour curfew imposed upon seven townships three weeks after communal violence rocked the city's Chan Aye Tharzan Township. The curfew is still in effect from 9pm to 3pm. On 1 July, communal violence broke out between the Muslim and Buddhist populations after a false rumour spread throughout the town that two Muslim teashop owners had raped a Buddhist maid. Two men – one Buddhist and one Muslim – were killed, while roughly 20 more were injured in the ensuing violence. Divisional authorities then levied a 9pm to 5am curfew upon seven townships. Ohn Lwin, secretary of the Mandalay Division's government, said that the curfew period will now end at 3 am, although security forces will remain on the ground. "The important thing is for the people to not buy into rumours that they heard by mouth without seeing it verified with their own eyes," Ohn Lwin said, adding that building trust between the two religious communities is also vital to preventing further violence. Ohn Lwin said that it is currently still "impossible" to completely lift the curfew. The Mandalay Peacekeeping Committee – made up of local civil society groups to monitor the situation and dispel rumours – recently reached out to the divisional government to lift the curfew, explaining that such a restrictive time frame was causing difficulties in the social, economic and health sectors. Zin Maung, a sales coordinator at a Mandalay supermarket, said that it would be better if the curfew could be eased at night, rather than in the early morning. "It would be more convenient if the curfew is relaxed in the evening because now we have to close our shops by around 7pm," Zin Maung said. |
| Census goes ahead at Thai refugee camps Posted: 21 Jul 2014 10:32 PM PDT Thousands of refugees have been lining up to be counted at Mae La, the largest refugee camp in Thailand, since Monday. Authorities said the process is set to finish by the end of July. They said the census is the first of its kind since the camp which houses over 43,000 refugees was established 30 years ago. “We conducted the census to get the exact number of those who fled the conflict [in Burma]," said infantry commander Terdsak Ngamsanong. But anyone who came here to work illegally will lose their refugee status," he said. An estimated 120,000 Burmese refugees live in 10 camps along the Thai-Burmese border, according to The Border Consortium, which coordinates NGO activity in the camps. Many fled persecution and ethnic wars as well as poverty and have lived in the camps with no legal means of making an income. “We’ve announced in both Burmese and Karen languages that we are processing them strictly. If the refugees leave the camp area, they will be considered illegal migrants. We’ll process them according to law. We'll send them to the police and they will be pushed back,” said Preeda Foongtrakulchai, permanent secretary of Tha Song Yang District. Refugees lined up to get their photos taken, with numbers marking the hierarchy in the family. Many of them feared they will be repatriated. “There are lots of different rumours going around. What they are worried about is that once they finish the head count they will be sent back," said Saw A Kaing, the village chief at one of the refugee zones. There have been anonymous comments in the media recently that Thailand’s military government plans to repatriate the refugees, a move rights groups say would create chaos at a tense time for both nations. However, DVB has leaned that such a move is unlikely to be contemplated within the next year as too many security factors remain. |
| Unity journalists appeal to be heard by Magwe Divisional Court Posted: 21 Jul 2014 10:17 PM PDT An appeal by four reporters from Unity Weekly news journal against their 10-year jail sentence is to be heard by Magwe Divisional Court, a lawyer for the journalists said on Monday. The four – Maw Naing, Sithu Soe, Aung Thura and Yazar Oo – were each found guilty earlier this month by Magwe District Court on charges under the Official Secrets Act after Unity Weekly published a report in January which accused the Burmese government of secretly using a facility in Magwe's Pauk Township as a chemical weapons factory. A fifth defendant, Unity CEO Tint Hsan, was also charged. But legal observers and rights activists reacted with shock at the verdict – ten years in prison with hard labour. Lawyers for the four reporters filed an appeal at Magwe Divisional High Court on Monday. Robert San Aung, lawyer for the four Unity reporters, said the appeal was accepted. "We submitted an appeal at the high court on behalf of the four Unity reporters, because we consider the district court's verdict unfair," said Robert San Aung. "High Court judge Daw Nu Yin accepted the appeal. We have been informed that it may take about 45 days until the first hearing begins." He said the appeal was submitted on the grounds that the local court's verdict was a violation of the four journalists' freedom of expression provided for by constitutional Article 354. CEO Tint San is reportedly filing a separate appeal through his own legal representatives. |
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